Here’s the bizarre reason scientists made tiny 3D glasses for a praying mantis

If you ever doubted whether a praying mantis can see in 3D, you won’t have to speculate any longer. Scientists have fitted the tiny creatures with miniature 3D glasses and prove they indeed see through them.

While this may seem odd, researchers will use their findings to learn more about the evolution of 3D vision, as well as how they can develop new algorithms that could be used for 3D depth perception in computers, according to cnet.com.

The tiny creatures wore green and blue lenses that were adhered to their heads with beeswax. They were then shown a video of  of what they perceived to be bugs they could easily attack and devour. Thinking it was fair game, the mantises lunged at the creatures only to be disappointed at the outcome, since there was no real physical prey on the other side.

The research team from Newcastle University in the U.K. has always suspected that despite their small brains, the praying mantis is a very intelligent creature, and their suspicion that they could see in 3D was head on, so to speak.

The mantises were shown the same videos in 2D but showed no interest. Their findings,”Insect stereopsis demonstrated using a 3D insect cinema,” were published this week in Scientific Reports.

Jenny Read, a professor of vision science and leader of the study in a press release said, “…mantises are sophisticated visual hunters which can capture prey with terrifying efficiency. We can learn a lot by studying how they perceive the world.”